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Home > Articles > Should Hooves be "Evened-Out" Freqently?
Should Hooves be "Evened-Out" Freqently?
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Q:
"I have a 2 year old Spanish Mustang mare who was out on range in Wyoming for the first year and a half of her life. Since she came to me last October, I have had her feet trimmed every 8 weeks. The farrier seems good and takes all of 5 minutes to rasp her feet. The only time he used nippers was the first trim.
"It has been 5 weeks and her feet look great. If she wears her feet by being on pasture (She is out on 20 acres now) do I need to have her feet "evened out" by a farrier? "Evened out" is the term the trainer where I board used.
"Ultimately I would like to be able to do her feet myself when they need it. But for now, I am trying to figure out if it is okay to leave them alone if they are not overly long or if I should have them looked at routinely by a farrier."
A: "Once again, educate yourself to proper hoof form and function. You, as your filly's steward, have the ultimate responsibility of providing for her health and well-being. Your farrier may not be executing a physiologically correct trim. It is rare for a domestic horse to maintain its own hooves, but it can occour. When a feral horse is confined, the hooves no longer self-maintain. This is why it is so important for you to be able to identify proper hoof form. If you should develop the skill to trim your filly's hooves, all the better! But do it soon, because your filly is dependent on you!"
~ Martha Olivo
United Horsemanship President
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